Is a serial cat killer on the loose in Singapore?

[UPDATE 28 December 2014, 10:12PM: This article has been further edited]

A serial cat killer may be on the loose in Singapore.

Some 50 cats have died at the Beach Road housing estate over the past three years and they appeared to have been abused, according to a YouTube video posted on Christmas Day by Coconuts TV.

The dead cats were found with broken bones and some people suspect they were killed using a slingshot or were thrown from a balcony. Some residents have one suspect in mind, but no eyewitnesses have come forward.

“Problem is a lot of eyewitnesses are not willing to go to the police or AVA to point fingers at this guy,” said resident Anthony Hong, who started the website Save the Beach Road Cats, said in the video.

Authorities have reportedly looked into the matter. However, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) claimed they could not find evidence to show whether humans caused the wounds on the cats, according to the video report.

“I do understand that the resident of that neighbourhood had reported it to the police and they had also hired a private investigator to look into the suspect… however, the police and the investigator came out short without forensics examination to determine whether they were puncture wounds caused by a sharp object or puncture wounds caused by a dog bite,” said Corinne Fong, executive director of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

There is also very little that SPCA could do as they have no power to detain or even “enter a suspected animal abuser’s home”, according to the video.

Meanwhile Joanne Ng, the chief executive officer of the Cat Welfare Society, seemed frustrated at the lack of actions undertaken by the authorities.

“Why are the authorities not doing anything about it? What happens if the person who is doing all this harm ends up murdering a small kid? Only then we’ll think it’s enough? And only then we’ll do something about it?”

She added, “But then it would be too late right? By then, you’ve already shaped a monster.”

If the suspect is convicted, he or she could be liable for a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine and a year in jail.